Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to provide insights into the moral values embodied by a popular social
networking site (SNS), Facebook.
Design/methodology/approach – This study is based upon qualitative fieldwork, involving
participant observation, conducted over a two-year period. The authors adopt the position that
technology as well as humans has a moral character in order to disclose ethical concerns that are not
transparent to users of the site.
Findings – Much research on the ethics of information systems has focused on the way that people
deploy particular technologies, and the consequences arising, with a view to making policy
recommendations and ethical interventions. By focusing on technology as a moral actor with reach
across and beyond the internet, the authors reveal the complex and diffuse nature of ethical
responsibility and the consequent implications for governance of SNS.
Research limitations/implications – The authors situate their research in a body of work known
as disclosive ethics, and argue for an ongoing process of evaluating SNS to reveal their moral
importance. Along with that of other authors in the genre, this work is largely descriptive, but the
paper engages with prior research by Brey and Introna to highlight the scope for theory development.
Practical implications – Governance measures that require the developers of social networking
sites to revise their designs fail to address the diffuse nature of ethical responsibility in this case. Such
technologies need to be opened up to scrutiny on a regular basis to increase public awareness of the
issues and thereby disclose concerns to a wider audience. The authors suggest that there is value in
studying the development and use of these technologies in their infancy, or if established, in the
experiences of novice users. Furthermore, flash points in technological trajectories can prove useful
sites of investigation.
Originality/value – Existing research on social networking sites either fails to address ethical
concerns head on or adopts a tool view of the technologies so that the focus is on the ethical behaviour
of users. The authors focus upon the agency, and hence the moral character, of technology to show
both the possibilities for, and limitations of, ethical interventions in such cases.